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Source: The post is based on the article “South Africa files genocide case against Israel at ICJ: Why the African nation supports Gaza so strongly” published in “The Indian Express” on 2nd January 2024.
Why in news?
Recently, South Africa approached the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to seek an immediate order affirming that Israel had violated its commitments under the 1948 Genocide Convention.
What is the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide?
1) The Convention is an instrument of international law that codified the crime of genocide for the first time.
2) It was the first human rights treaty adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 9 December 1948.
3) According to the Genocide Convention, genocide is a crime that can take place both in time of war and in time of peace.
Definition of Genocide: In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
- Killing members of the group.
- Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group.
- Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part
- Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.
- Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
5) The convention also states that any country involved in the agreement can request the relevant United Nations organs to take necessary actions to prevent and suppress acts of genocide.
6) It puts obligation on state parties to take measures to prevent and to punish the crime of genocide, including by enacting relevant legislation and punishing perpetrators.
What is the International Court of Justice?
1) The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN).
2) It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946.
Role: To settle legal disputes submitted to it by States and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies.
Seat: of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands).
Composition: 15 judges, who are elected for terms of office of nine years by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council.
Of the six principal organs of the United Nations, it is the only one not located in New York (United States of America).
Its official languages are English and French.
UPSC syllabus: International organisation
